THE THURSO 79 



year, extraordinary as some of them are, and to save space the 

 records are given in periods of five years. 



From 1853 to 1857. — 2473 fish of io| lb. average ; in 1855 the 

 take was 954.' 



From 1858 to 1862. — 3149 fish, not quite 10 lb. average; in 

 i860 the take was 1041. 



From 1863 to 1867. — 3570 fish, average 9I lb. ; in 1863 the take 

 was 1510. 



From 1868 to 1872. — 3084 fish, average io| lb. ; and in 1869 

 it is duly recorded that Mr. S. Barker, being snowed up at Golspie 

 on the 4th of March, walked from there to Braal — fully a fifty-mile 

 tramp — his enthusiasm being rewarded later on by the capture of a 

 fine fellow of 30 lb. ; the first ever got on the Thurso. 



From 1873 to 1877. — 3720 fish, average iif lb. ; in 1874 the 

 take was 1240. 



From 1878 to 1882. — 2392 fish, average iij lb. ; in 1878 the take 

 was 758. 



From 1883 to 1887. — 2450 fish, average 11 lb. ; in 1884 the take 

 was 820. 



From 1888 to 1892. — 2433 fish, average iij lb. ; in 1892 the take 

 was 822. 



From 1893 to 1897. — 1793 fish, average iii lb. ; in 1896 the take 

 was 759 ; in 1897 the take was 195, which is the smallest ever known. 



In 1898 the take was 389 fish, and in 1899, 206. This gives a 

 total of 26,379 fish to the rod in forty-seven years, or 561 fish per 

 annum. 



During this period there were many great days of sport, the 

 best of which are well worthy of record. On the 9th of May 1863, Mr. 

 Daubuz had seventeen fish, Mr. Banbury seventeen, Mr. Enys fifteen, 

 and Mr. Edwards six, or fifty-five fish for the day ; the two rods on 

 the river being blank. In the same year, on the nth, the loch rods 

 had forty-five fish, and from the 24th to the 27th of May, Mr. Enys 

 had four successive double-figure days, totalling forty-one fish ! 



In 1864, on the 21st of April, Mr. Enys hooked two fish, one on 

 each fly, on Loch More, and landed them both, the weights being 

 ii|- and 5^- lb. 



In 1874, on 13th, 14th, and 15th April, Mr. F. Hardcastle had 

 eleven, seventeen, and thirteen, or forty-one for the three days, the 

 total of the six boats on the 14th being sixty-four fish, and as Lord 

 Kilcoursie had ten on Loch Beg, and the rod on the Linn had two, 

 seventy-eight were taken that day, and the total take for these three 

 wonderful days was 192 ! 



On the 27th of April six boats had sixty-four on the loch, and of 

 these twenty-four went to the rod of Mr. Bayley, while the river rods 

 had only three. 



In 1876, the 8th of March, Mr. Enys had three twenty-pounders, 



' Until 1857 there were fewer rod.s, but after that there were seven, and 

 from 1870 there were eight. In 1858 the Loch and Beats 7 and 8 were let 

 separately, and the fish got on them are not included in the log-book. 



